Saturday, June 22, 2013

Documenting a Greasy Gunky Day

First up today: our blueberries are finally coming in! I went outside before breakfast and dug and mulched and in the process noticed seven ripe berries. I brought them inside, and here they are (top right) ready to be eaten!

My husband and I went this morning and got Maya's sewing machine, and I spent most of today taking it apart, cleaning, and exploring it. Happily, it came with a manual, and although old and somewhat crumbly, the manual is missing only one page. In the process of doing a preliminary cleaning, I noticed the bobbin winder had a worn-out-looking rubber ring that is supposed to make contact with the wheel when the bobbin is being wound. The rubber ring was wobbly and dry and generally rough looking. So I drew the part (bottom left of right hand page) and then took it apart so I could get the rubber thing off. Drawing it helps me to understand how it works and especially how to put it back together after I take it apart. I searched on eBay and found replacements for the entire part and then found for $3.00 a replacement for the rubber tire only, which is all I needed. I also drew the face plate because it had the serial number stamped on it and I wanted to search on-line to see if I could find a date that corresponded to it.

The left hand page has notes that I took while researching, and on the right side I drew the original ratty-looking rubber tire as well as the entire bobbin winder after I had cleaned it up. Close examination showed me that what I had assumed to be a carefully-machined tire was actually a slice hacked out of a 1917 or so rubber garden hose. So much for all the time I spent fretting over the exact diameter of the replacement that I ordered!

It's a journal that I made out of an old baguette chips bag and some Strathmore 500 series drawing paper and also some willow and abaca paper (the pinkish paper) that I made last spring. You can find the recipe for making this journal under Tutorial 2 on this blog, upper right, in the Topics column. I sewed the signatures directly into the cover of this journal, but the journal cover one in the tutorial is the same cover design.

About Me

Real Life Journals is about designing, building, and using journals that help keep your sometimes wobbly little boat afloat. I see this blog as a chance to expand on, question, and make corrections to my recent book of the same title.